Happy, Healthy Halloween!

Tonight’s the big night! Many kids have been looking forward to Halloween for weeks, excited about finally donning their new costumes and enjoying all the goodies they’ll collect! While adults can share in the excitement, parents and seniors often look for ways to make this holiday, notoriously high in sugar, a little more healthy.

You CAN make Halloween more healthful!

If you still haven’t purchased candy to give out tonight, here are some ideas from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to create a more healthful Halloween experience for your favorite little trick-or-treaters, whether they’re grandchildren or neighbors.

1) Purchase foods other than candy to distribute to children. Make sure they’re individually wrapped, with no alteration to the wrapper.

• Cheddar-flavored crackers
• 100% fruit snacks or leathers
• Sugar-free gum
• Animal-shaped crackers
• Mini-rice cereal treat bars
• Cereal bars made with real fruit
• Individual fruit cups
• Mini 100% fruit juice boxes
• Low-fat pudding cups
• Pretzels

2) Consider purchasing non-food items to give away.

• Jelly bracelets
• Fake teeth or wax fangs
• Jump ropes
• Eye ball bouncy balls
• Temporary tattoos or stickers
• Small containers of modeling clay
• Bubbles
• Erasers, coloring pencils or crayons
• Plastic spider rings
• Small Halloween-themed notebooks
• Noise makers or whistles

And finally, have an action plan to limit sugar and fat consumption once all the trick-or-treaters have returned home.

• Establish limits on the amount of candy consumed per day
• Make candy trades by finding things your kids want more and switch out for the candy
• Don’t leave candy in plain sight
• Be mindful
• Donate extra candy

And don’t forget to have kids brush their teeth after eating candy, especially ones that stick to their teeth!

For more ideas about healthy eating, give me a call!

We can discuss some practical tips and discover if any of my programs or classes are a good fit for you.
If you’d like to schedule that call with me, just CLICK THIS LINK, and let me know in the message that you would like a 1-on-1 call with me right away and I will be in touch to schedule that – oh, and leave me your phone number in there too since email is not as reliable as it used to be! Thanks.

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